Villain: Ultimate Mutation System in the Alternate World

The gears of the platform started to twist and turn as the train finally reached the boundary of Crestwood.

As per protocol, the armored train was lifted down first to the underground tunnel below.

Next would be the containers, which would be transported by normal trains.

The reason the tunnel to the city was underground was because the surface surrounding the barrier was filled with heavy duty land-mines, serving as the first part of the city's defense.

This was a standard design for all Tiered cities that lacked sufficient manpower to protect themselves in case of invasion.

Besides that, there were also multiple other reasons for having such a tunnel.

First, the entire perimeter was equipped with highly sensitive sensors.

Since Miasma interfered with signals, these sensors read vibration instead of frequency. So, they were all installed underground throughout the city's perimeter in order to maximized it's sensitivity and accuracy.

If a train passed through occasionally, it would trigger false alarms, reducing the lifespan of the sensors, and jeopardize the city's security.

The next reason was more straightforward: with a single line of railways, the city could track people entering and leaving, enhancing security.

However, this wasn't foolproof.

A powerful demon could just fly through the sensors from the start.

Still, it was better than having no defense mechanism at all.

"Is this all you've got?" A bald man wearing a white polo with a blue blazer asked, his tone dripping with arrogance as he pointed at the containers in front of him, the tag on his chest showed the logo of the Chambers of Commerce.

"This is all we've managed to get, so how about you pay us for all the trouble so we could leave right away?" a man wearing a soldier uniform spoke. novel hosted m,vle mpyr

He was the right hand man of a major and was responsible for selling items that the military unit managed to salvaged from wreckage.

"We'll pay you after we check the goods," the bald man sneered in contempt.

He was someone used to dealing with customs officers, so he expected respect from these army men.

Custom Officers were the most cunning and money-hungry individuals among all government personnel.

They would go to great lengths to ask for bribes just to let goods pass through.

That's why most high-ranking customs officers were filthy rich, literary.

'This greedy fucker,' the army man cursed inwardly.

If not for the customs checking all the salvage items, they would have earned more by selling these things directly to the open market.

However, they needed to go through the Chambers of Commerce first because the greedy customs officers were on their fat payroll.

Now, they had to settle for what was commonly called a "Collections Fee," which was only 10% of the total value of everything they scavenged.

And the worst part?

The Chamber of Commerce would nitpick on anything, further decreasing the value of the items.

In the end, this world was still run by money.

Whoever had the most wealth controlled everything.

"We will take our leave then," he conceded, realizing it was futile to argue with someone from the Chamber of Commerce.

"Alright, Alright," the bald man waved him off with a dismissive gesture, showing no respect to the uniformed personnel who had been keeping the city safe by putting their lives on the line.

The other army men gritted their teeth in anger, but in the end, they kept their emotions under control.

The Chamber of Commerce funded everything from health, education to infrastructure to the military.

Fighting against them was akin to fighting the central figure that kept the government alive.

When the army left with frustrated faces, the bald man quickly instructed his employees to tally everything.

He was certain the military had took notes of the items here, preventing them from cheating in that regard.

However, they could mark some expensive products as defective to lower the compensation they needed to pay.

Why go through all this trouble?

The reason was pretty twisted: the more money he saved for the Chamber of Commerce, the bigger his commission would be.

Because of this reward system, people like him were tempted to do anything to increase their own margin of income, regardless of the consequences or moral implications.

"Sir, we found something odd in one of the containers!" One of his employees called his attention, so he hurriedly checked it out.

When he reached the container, he saw an egg at least four times the size of a basketball. It was colored black with red patterns on it, and has this artistic taste on it.

"Oh my god, it looks really expensive!" The bald man started to grin from ear to ear as he hurriedly felt it with his hand.

His eyes began to show money signs just from imagining the cash he would get from selling this things to avid collectors who would pay anything just to get an item that others did not have access to.

It was their way of showing off their wealth to their peers. The rarer and more expensive their collection, the more famous they became in their circle.

"Should we put it on our X-Ray scanner?" the employee asked, feeling that something was wrong with the egg.

It looked like a piece of art, but for some reason, he felt scared just looking at it.

The bald man' face soured after hearing his employee's suggestion.

Anything that goes to the Advance X-ray scanner would be tallied by Chamber Of Commerse System automatically , so he wont be able to sell this one for himself if he did.

"There's no need for that. This thing is just a piece of art. I want it. Bring it to my truck," he commanded, his tone did not gave anyone the chance to argue with him.

"Yes sir!"

"Yes sir!"

Hearing his orders, the other employees sighed inwardly, knowing full well that their boss was a shrewed and corrupt individual that would do everything for profit.

Inside the egg, Reign overheard everything.

He thought he would be discovered when he heard about the advanced X-ray scanner, but it turned out to be a stroke of luck that some greedy person took a liking to his disguise, saving him a lot of trouble.

'I was ready to massacre everyone if they tried to put me on that thing,' Reign mused to himself, his relief visible from his creepy smile. 'Good thing I did not make a move right away,' he chuckled softly, seeing that his patience had been rewarded.

As they lifted up the egg, where he was currently hiding, it became obvious that it was heavier than expected.

The workers quickly realized that they would need assistance to move it .

"Go get that thing," One of workers ordered.

The forklift hummed to life, its mechanical arms carefully maneuvering the massive egg through the bustling storage hall.

Reign listened intently to the muffled voices and clinking of machinery around him, so he could predict where he was going .

After around 15 minutes or so, he sensed a change in his surroundings through the vibration.

The sensation of being lifted shifted, and he could hear the sound of tires straining under the weight.

It became clear to him that the workers were placing him inside a vehicle .

'Where are they taking me?' Reign wondered.